Give the smiles back to Chiles

Objections. Arbitrator. Appeals. Inquiries. A bronze medal demanded back, a moment sullied.

Standing on the podium of the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy should have been the crowning moment in Jordan Chiles’s career. Perhaps not the crowning moment of her life. That, you hope, is still to come.

She and her friend Simone Biles got down on bended knee to celebrate and pay homage to another friend, the gold medal winner Rebeca Andrade of Brazil after the Olympic floor competition. Iconic pictures do not come more iconic than this. It was the seminal moment of the Paris Games. Sublime Biles and Chiles. Radiant Rebeca. Smiles and pride and honour and glory and sighs.

It was, as the New York Times, described it, a moment that will forever be associated with the Olympics. A moment that said so much about what the Olympics mean and should mean. It was a moment that said so much about Chiles, the bronze medal winner, her first individual Olympic medal.

But, sport and administrators are mean, and they mean to get their way. And before the engines had cooled on the jet that flew her home to the United States, the IOC, that bastion of contradiction, had told her she had to give her bronze medal back. Romania had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after their athlete, Ana Barbosu, had finished fourth.

Chiles had needed a 13.700 in the floor routine for bronze. She scored 13.666 and was fifth. “As Chellsie Memmel, the Team USA technical director, put it afterward, the landings were a little loose and the tumbling passes weren’t too crisp. The resulting score maybe had a chance to leapfrog Romanians Ana Barbosa and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, both tied in third, but it’d be close,” reported the NY Times.

“Chiles made it through the set, but reality was reality. A few minor technical miscues dotted the routine. It happens. It was a fate she was mature enough to accept. Chiles began gathering her belongings and heading toward an arena tunnel, but then, a twist. A coup de théâtre. Team USA coach Cecile Landi submitted a score inquiry, requesting the judges review a dance element, believing the score might not have accurately reflected the routine’s skills. Landi knew there was a chance of such a scenario. She exchanged text messages with Memmel before the routine about the possibility.”

A score inquiry was lodged. It was successful. Her score was amended to 13.766. Bronze was hers.

Bring on the tears. Bring on the smiles. Bring on the bow. Send in the clowns. Send in the CAS.

The Romanians claimed the inquiry was “lodged 64 seconds after Chiles’ score was posted”, read a report. The time limit is 60 seconds. The US were four seconds over.

“Or did they?,” asked the Guardian. “(The US) is arguing it wasn’t given time to prepare an adequate defence. On Sunday afternoon, claiming time-stamped evidence that the inquiry most certainly was requested within a minute of the score being posted – to be more precise, 47 seconds. ‘The video footage was not available to USA Gymnastics prior to the tribunal’s decision and thus USAG did not have the opportunity to previously submit it,’ USAG’s statement reads.”

And there’s more. CNN reported on Wednesday that the head of the three-person CAS panel that made the ruling in favour of Romania, Dr Hamid G Gharavi. “Philippe Sands and Song Lu sat on the panel, of which Gharavi was the president, according to CAS. Gharavi’s resume, linked on CAS’ website, lists multiple legal cases in which he has represented Romania in arbitration cases.” Oh. Well. Ahem.

“The International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution was the first to report on the legal ties Gharavi has with Romania,” wrote CNN. “In response to an inquiry for comment, Gharavi referred CNN to CAS. In a statement sent to CNN on Wednesday, CAS said: ‘In accordance with the guidelines on conflicts of interest issued by the International Bar Association (IBA), CAS has no reason to remove an arbitrator making such disclosure if the parties do not object to his/her appointment.’ ”

Objections. Arbitrator. Appeals. Inquiries.

Two women have been put into the worst of places by the IOC and CAS. Romania have said they did not want to take bronze way from Chiles, but, well, they knew what would happen. There is no blame attached to them. There is to the system and the hurt has done to Barbosu and Chiles. The latter has removed herself from all social media.

Crowned and then downed. Give them both bronze, dearest IOC. Claim back the moment of the Games. Make it what it was meant to be.